January 23, 2026

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Chrysochoidis: “It’s time to uproot evil” – Greek FBI reports 1,500 arrests


Minister for the Protection of Citizens of Greece Michalis Chrysochoidis stated that “The time has come to uproot evil”commenting on both new gun control measures and the work the so-called “Greek FBI” to combat organized crime.

The reason was the events in Vorizi on Cretewhere a bloody shootout with two dead once again showed the depth of the problem of armed violence and criminal “family” conflicts.

In an interview with state TV channel ERT the minister emphasized that the authorities are focusing on hard-to-reach areas of the massif Psiloritiswhere they took root for years gun culture and tolerance for lynching.

According to Chrysochoidis, new legislative amendments to the arms trafficking regime are being prepared, which he intends to present at Crete in the coming days. At the same time, special services are being created that will monitor the circulation of weapons and ammunition, as well as monitor their illegal circulation.

“There are ideas based on many years of tolerance. They need to be uprooted, even at the level of simple mentality. From celebratory shots in the air to the way some choose to resolve their disputes,” the minister noted.

Commenting on the initial police response to events in WoriziaChrysochoidis stated that “It’s utopian to believe that police officers can manage to prevent family vendettas every time.” According to him, the priority should be to impose a logic of prevention and a change in thinking, as well as dismantling the idea that “families with money and guns can impose their interests.”. “We will root out this idea”he emphasized.

Separately, the minister focused on operations against the so-called Greek Mafia, noting that persons involved in these cases damage both the country’s economy and its international image.

According to Chrysochoidis, the new specialized service delayed about 1,500 peopleof which 550 were sent to prison as temporary prisoners. “Murders that remained unsolved for two decades are now being investigated. New generations of hired killers are also being eliminated,” – the minister noted, emphasizing that we are talking about a systemic fight against organized crimeand not about one-time operations.

Thus, the authorities are simultaneously trying to tighten control over illegal weaponsbreak local criminal structures and change the long-standing culture of impunity, especially in problem regions.



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